The Department of Veterans Affairs and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are warning consumers about a new scam targeting veterans with VA guaranteed home loans.
According to a news release, there has been a recent jump in scams targeting veterans with home loans. The scammers usually pretend to be affiliated with the government or a mortgage company and attempt to scam veterans out of money by some new and novel methods, along with some techniques that have been around for years, albeit with either a new COVID-19 related twist or new technology that makes it easier for the scammers to conceal their identity.
The fraudsters try to get veterans to refinance their homes, agree to loan modifications or even start sending their mortgage payments to a new address, according to the release.
With the recent financial crisis resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic, fraudsters are also trying to convince veterans that their homes are facing foreclosure or they owe late fees.
Some veterans have reported phone calls that appear to come from the local VA office, with the caller telling the veteran their mortgage has been transferred to a new servicer. As a result of this supposed mortgage transfer, the veteran now owes months’ worth of mortgage payments, the fraudster claims. To avoid foreclosure, the veteran is told they must make several hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of back payments to the new mortgage holder at a new address,…
